Frankenstein: read-along
Frankenstein as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 2035 words, level 17, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 13
Late in the eighteenth century, an English explorer named Robert Walton sailed toward the North Pole, determined to discover a passage through the polar ice that no navigator had ever located. One foggy morning, while his ship was imprisoned among enormous floating sheets of ice, his crew witnessed something extraordinary: far across the frozen plain, a sledge pulled by dogs was racing northward, and the figure driving it had the shape of a man but was of gigantic stature. The following morning a second sledge drifted toward the ship on a fragment of ice, carrying a solitary traveler, half frozen and nearly dead, who refused to come aboard until the sailors told him which direction they were traveling. He was a Swiss gentleman named Victor Frankenstein, and as Walton gradually nursed him back toward health, the stranger confessed that he had been pursuing the giant across half the world. Before he died, he related the story of how he had created him.
Keys: ← → or Page Up and Page Down turn the page, Space starts and pauses the voice, Home and End jump, F fills the screen. Tapping the right side of a page goes on; the left side goes back.
How to use it
- Press Full screen (F) to put the book on the projector.
- Press Read to me (Space), or read it yourself and turn pages with the arrow keys or a tap. Pick the Pace that suits the class.
- After the last page, three questions come up to talk about.
About this book
- Level 17, beyond grade 8
- 13 pages, 2035 words, about 15 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About Frankenstein
A young scientist named Victor Frankenstein discovers how to give life to lifeless matter, builds a giant, and runs from the creature the moment it opens its eyes. Left alone in a world that screams at the sight of him, the creature teaches himself to speak and to read, and then he comes to find his maker with a question.
Words to preview
- bestowing (bih-STOH-ing)
- giving
- revulsion (rih-VUL-shun)
- disgust
- eloquently (EL-uh-kwent-lee)
- very well spoken
- hovel (HUV-ul)
- rough shed
- compassion (kum-PASH-un)
- kindness
- pyre (PIRE)
- funeral fire
Questions that fit any book
- What happened at the beginning, in the middle and at the end?
- Which page was your favorite? Why?
- How did the main character feel at the end? What tells you?
Questions
How long does Frankenstein take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 2035 words, so about 15 minutes at the Steady pace and a little less at Quick. If you stop to talk on the way, plan for more.
What reading level is Frankenstein?
Level 17, beyond grade 8. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; levels above 13 are beyond grade 8 and have no grade. A level is a guide for choosing, so look at the pages yourself.
Whose voice is it?
Your browser's own. Read to me uses a speaking voice already on the computer, so it sounds like that computer and works without a sign-in. Voices differ: some light each word as it is spoken, and some do not, in which case the highlight follows a steady pace instead. Some browsers use an online voice; if yours does, the browser, not us, sends the words of the page to its speech service. If no voice is installed, turn the pages and read it aloud yourself.
Do students need an account?
No. Nothing is asked of anyone and nothing is sent to us. Project the page, or share the link and let students open it on their own screens.
Is this the original text?
No. It is a retelling in Peabody's own words at this reading level, so it may differ from the edition you know.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.